Tag Archives: Zondernaam

Restaurant Review: New Bistro Cafe Dijon spices up Cape Town!

It is very bold to close down two restaurants in Stellenbosch, and to start from scratch in Cape Town.  This is what Sarah and Dup du Plessis have done, moving their two Café Dijon restaurants on Plein Street and at Zorgvliet in Stellenbosch into a most beautifully decorated space in the Rockwell Centre on Napier Street in Green Point, serving excellent Bistro food, one of the best French style restaurants in Cape Town.

When I first heard that Café Dijon was moving into the Rockwell Centre, my heart sank for the new venture, thinking that they were taking the space of Camil Haas’ Bouillabaisse, which closed down two years ago. But the Rockwell Hotel that operates from the building has made that space its bar, and created a small restaurant in the ex-Crepe Suzette space.

Café Dijon is in a space that once was a decor shop, facing Anatoli’s. Using In House designer Lawrence Holmes, the restaurant sports three ‘palm tree’ wood-cladded pillars, which not only add a most stunning decor imprint, but also hold downlighters, having a functional role too.  The original marble topped bar counter was transported across from the Plein Street branch, as were the bistro-style tables and chairs.  In raised sections near the stackable sliding doors new tables have been added, made from beautiful wood with an extra black section added, to make it look like slate. Here the bistro chairs have red striped or black and white check upholstery. A couch with blue and white striped upholstery provides seating for the tables in the lower section. The tables are allowed to show off their beauty and not hidden by a table cloth, but material serviettes and St Tropez cutlery add quality. Cape Herb & Spice Atlantic Sea Salt and Extra Bold Pepper grinders are on each table.  Laminated floors look like they are made from wine vats, with names of wine varieties.  At the entrance is a wooden structure, partly a ‘canopy’ containing downlighters, as well as a section in which wines can be stored, similar to the racking used to make champagne.  Near the bar small white and black floor tiles give an aged Bistro effect.  Bunches of San Pellegrino bottles with LED bulbs also create lighting, as do wine bottle-shaped lights hanging over the bar counter.  Interesting is a wall with names, which the designers created to honour some of the special people in Dup and Sarah’s life, with some French names added, e.g. Le Roux, Olivier, Du Buisson, and Mouton,  to suit the theme of the restaurant. The wall even contains the Zondernaam name, a brand name which Tokara owner GT Ferreira had to kill because it became more popular than its first brand, Dup told me. The walls have a green paint effect. Black canopies with the Café Dijon branding are due to be erected on the two sides of the restaurant.  I loved the big black table outside, which has been built around a tree.

The owners of Café Dijon are not French at all, but locals.  Johan (’Dup’) du Plessis grew up in the Banhoek valley, and his wife Sarah comes from Somerset West.  Sarah trained at Silwood Kitchen and then worked in Monaco for Sir David Brown of Aston Martin fame.  Dup grew up in a household in ‘which real men don’t cook’, but he did learn to, and they met at Deltacrest outside Franschhoek.   When it burnt down, they decided to open a ‘Thirties style bistro in Stellenbosch, opposite the Town Hall, offering classic French dishes and comfort food, which suited the design of the venue perfectly. Sarah and Dup started Café Dijon four years ago, and chose a cat for their logo, many Bistro’s having an animal name, explained Sarah.  In Stellenbosch an edict had banned cats in restaurants in the 1950’s, and Rose Jordaan’s grandmother had a black cat statue erected in front of the Stellenbosch library.  They live outside Franschhoek, and both are in the restaurant, Sarah looking after the kitchen until after lunch, while Dup stays on until they close in the evening.  Dup had a visitor when I ate there on Thursday, while Sarah was an excellent hostess, checking on her customers regularly.

A blackboard at the door advertised the specials: Angus beef burger R50; seared tuna with basil pesto R120; and the cheese of the day being Dalewood Brie at R60. The menu is printed on cream paper, and one is advised that food allergies should be shared with the waiter, as many dishes contain shellfish, garlic, dairy, or nuts, something one rarely sees on menus of late.  Dup is very proud of the Toulouse sausage which they make themselves from pork shoulder, nutmeg, garlic, and white wine, and he insisted that I try it as a starter. Amazingly, Sarah remembered how much I had enjoyed their duck liver paté at their Zorgvliet restaurant more than a year ago, and sent out a taster of it with home-baked ciabatta.  The sausage has a very mild taste, in contrast to the strong bite of the Dijon mustard. The sausage dish is usually a Bistro main course, two sausages served with pommes frites, a tomato and onion salad, and Dijon mustard, costing R70.  The paté is part of a charcuterie platter, served with parma ham and Felino salami, costing R65.  Other starters range from R55 – R 70, including steak tartare, calamari, trout, tomato tart, and marrow bones. Seven salad options include roasted beetroot, a classic Caesar, poached egg and bacon lardons, pear and Parma ham, grilled steak and rocket, and smoked duck breast, none costing more than R75.

Fish dishes are restricted to squid linguine (R75), and steamed West Coast mussels served with a white wine garlic, cream, and parsley sauce (R95).  For the main course I ordered from the Bistro section, being pork belly with pommes purée, puy lentils, a pork croquette, an apple and grain mustard jus, and pea shoots (R115), which I had not seen for some time.  The Bistro section also offers French onion soup, snails Bordelaise and chicken melanzane (R52 – R76 price range). Duck a L’Orange, served with confit duck leg, cabbage, bacon lardons, and an orange and Van der Hum sauce, sounds delicious, and good value at R120. A number of steak options are also offered, ranging from R115 for 200g Angus beef to R130 for fillet.  One can order sauces, vegetables, and salads as extras.

Desserts are very inexpensive at R35, and include Crème Brûlée, caramelised lemon tart, strawberry meringue (Eton Mess style), and chocolate profiteroles with caramel cream. I had a baked apple tartlet with almonds and honey, with a LavAzza cappuccino.  The cheese of the week costs R60.

The winelist offers three or four options per varietal, and it is disappointing that vintages are not specified on the paper winelist, which can easily be updated should the vintages run out.  Moët et Chandon NV and Veuve Clicquot cost around R550, while Pongracz, Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel, and Graham Beck Brut cost R175. Four Shiraz options are offered, ranging from Thelema’s Elgin Sutherland at R150, to Rust en Vrede at R375.  The winelist is dominated by Stellenbosch wines.

Café Dijon will become a welcome stop not only for lunch and dinner, but also in-between meals for a coffee, drinks, and tapas outside, which will be introduced shortly.  Ample parking is available underneath the building, on the opposite side. The service from Eric was very good, and there was not one sign that this restaurant had only been open for one week when I ate there.  The prices are very reasonable, and Dup and Sarah are hands-on, a definite plus.

POSTSCRIPT 5/9:  I popped in for a coffee and a Strawberry Meringue after a concert this evening, and was delighted that the restaurant was so busy. Yet a party of four left angry, saying that the food order was not brought to the table correctly, and that they had been overcharged. The owners had left early, the manager had the night off, and the chef had turned ill, leaving the busy restaurant in the hands of a junior team.  This is the second angry complaint we have received in the past week, in both instances the owners not being there. Best is to check if one or both owners will be there when booking.

Café Dijon, Rockwell Centre, Napier Street, Green Point.  Tel (021) 418-3910. www.cafedijon.co.za Twitter: @CafeDijonCT   Tuesday – Sunday lunch, Tuesday – Saturday dinner.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:  www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Restaurant Review: Tokara DeliCatEssen a near cat-astrophe!

The new Tokara DeliCatEssen, which opened late last year on the Tokara wine estate in the Helshoogte Pass, has everything going for it as far as its beautiful setting and the large spacious L-shaped building design goes, but the management of it and its service was close to a cat-astrophe yesterday.

Tokara wine estate has long had a strong following, with excellent wines being produced under the Tokara and Zondernaam labels.   Its restaurant, run by once-top restaurateur Etienne Bonthuys, used to have a strong following, but Delaire Graff across the road will have taken business away.   Due to the new deli, one can no longer park at the side of the Tokara winery building for the restaurant, and one has to enter via a gate which leads one to the winery as well.  One almost feels that Ferreira is cutting business off from the Tokara restaurant, as signage only leads one to the delicatessen.   It has been rumoured that Bonthuys would be setting up a new restaurant in Stellenbosch.

Tokara owner GT Ferreira invested in a major revamp of his wife’s original Oil Shed, a little further down the road from his winery, and has created a delightful-looking open plan delicatessen and restaurant serving breakfast (until 12h00) and lunches.    It has a large outside terrace, next to a large water feature, and children are well-catered for with a tree-like jungle gym.   No expense has been spared in the building.   An interesting “chandelier” made from white tree branches attracts attention as one arrives inside the deli.

Shelving along the back and side wall displays Tokara wines and its olive oil products, and also traditional deli-type products like pastes, biltong and dry-wors, jams, breads and cakes.   Separate counters with chilled tops displaying chocolates from a chocolatier in Betty’s Bay and cheeses are in front of the shelves, and one is not sure if one may go behind them, to take products off the shelves.   Pastries and muffins can also be bought.

A chap called Del, wearing a green shirt, runs the deli section and its till, but this is not clear nor indicated as such when one arrives, as it appears that the deli and restaurant are one and the same thing.  The only thing that sets him apart is his shirt colour, as the regular waiters wear a white T-shirt, so the assumption was made that Del was a manager of sorts.  As his station is closest to the entrance door, one gravitates to him naturally, when asking for a table.   Arriving at 11h45, and not seeing any “Reserved” signs on the tables, a table was requested for a quick breakfast.  Del’s instant response was that all tables had been booked – however only half of the tables had clients sitting at them.   He went off to ask a manager if he could make a table available, and  was given permission.  But I was told clearly that I was only allowed to occupy it for half an hour.   I ordered a cappuccino, a glass of water and scrambled egg off the breakfast section of the menu, and had to chase the coffee and water as it had not arrived by the time the egg was served. I was told that “our drinks department is very busy m’am”.  More and more guests left, and even more tables were available by the time I left half an hour later.

The scrambled egg arrived with bacon, a croissant and a container of grated cheese, which was not stated on the menu, so toast was requested.  This arrived as wholewheat toast, which was not requested.  The waitress was asked for white toast, and said they do not have it, as they serve healthy foods.   The kitchen did manage to find a slice of white bread,  and it made a lovely piece of toast.   The very soft butter was served in an egg cup, which was a nice touch as far as the container was concerned (one of only two nice touches I saw).   The scrambled egg was most unspectacular.

The theme, as emphasised in the brand name, is on cats in the menu (not taken through into the decor though), and the menu reflects the theme of a cat in the logo, and cat illustrations in the inside cover of the menu.  The menu asks “Cat got your tongue?” and states that “Curiosity killed the cat”.  Little cat illustrations are spread throughout the small, badly-handled paper menu.   Breakfast options are a health breakfast (R35), coconut bread and jam (R 22), scrambled egg and bacon (R35), and baked egg and spinach (R 25).   A nice touch is a children’s breakfast choice, of corn flakes, and scrambled egg.

Lunch is a buffet on weekends, and is beautifully presented and displayed deep into the restaurant – it is so far from the entrance or the terrace, that one would not know that it is set up.   It costs R 18 per 100 gram weighed, and yesterday the salad choices were Panzanella salad (chickpea, mixed greens and tomato), Chremoulla salad (radish, cucumber, tomato and basil), tuna salad, a salad of carrot, pumpkin, and sweet potato, a fruit sald, roast chicken, pork, and a fruit salad.   Wines on offer are Zondernaam (R 85 for the whites and R 110 for the shiraz) and Tokara (R 135 for the Sauvignon Blanc – R 360 for the Tokara Red).

In the half an hour of being at Tokara, I was seated by Del, and served by 3 waiters.   Madeleine was the most organised waiter, but things really fell apart when it came to leaving and paying,  Other than Del, who had imposed the half an hour deadline on the use of the table, no other staff seemed in a rush to get me out of the restaurant.  No bill arrived, and as I could tell Del what I had ordered, I moved to where he was.   He had a packet of dry wors I had selected.  Then came the surprise – he mans the deli computer, and can only take payment for the deli items, but not for the food eaten.   Right at the other end of the restaurant is the restaurant computer, on which system one can pay for deli items and the food eaten!  The only problem is that six waitresses were waiting in line to access the one restaurant computer, while Del was standing idle at his deli computer!   It took 10 minutes for the waitress to bring the new total bill, unusually presented inside a Tokara-branded Tetrapak milk carton, and another 10 minutes for her to come back with the change.   While waiting, I observed a customer wanting to buy Tokara wines and olive oil, having taken them off the display shelf.  He was told that he was allowed to buy the olive oil but not the wine, as one is not allowed to sell wines in a venue in which it is also served.  The customer was muttering because he was expected to drive 500 meters down the road to the winery, to buy it there!

When asked if one could speak to Anna-Marie Ferriera, GT’s wife and owner of the new venuture, or to Kara, the chef daughter, I was told that they are on holiday until the end of the month.  A lady in a purple top could have been a Manager, but she did not come to the customer tables at all, and seemed quite distant.

The Ferreira fortune behind the venture is evident when one reads that the deli was closed between Christmas and New Year, one of the busiest times of the year in the Cape.

POSTSCRIPT 25/3:  Yesterday, after a very long time, I went back to Tokara Deli, finding the Tokara Restaurant closed for a wedding.  The service level has increased dramatically, and the staff were exceptionally friendly. The menu remains limited, and the salad buffet is very expensive. I loved the care that was taken with the display of the bread rolls by one of the staff.

Tokara DeliCatEssen, Tokara wine estate, Helshoogte Pass, open Tuesday – Sundays from 9h00 – 16h00, tel 021 808-5950, facebook On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Cape scores at Decanter Awards

Cape wines won 34 gold medals at the recent Decanter World Wine Awards, one of the largest international wine award events with over 10 000 wines submitted by more than 2 000 wineries.    The Awards were presented at the London International Wine Fair last week, reports the Cape Times.

South Africa improved its success at the Decanter Awards, with its 34 gold and 130 silver medals.  In 2008, South African wines won 25 gold and 93 silver medals.

Tokara in Stellenbosch won two gold and five silver medals; Cederberg won three gold and a silver medal; Fairview won two gold and two silver medals; Kanonkop won two gold and a silver medals; and Kaapzicht two gold medals.   In addition, Kaapzicht Estate Steytler Vision 2006 Pinotage was named the best South African Red Single varietal in the over GBP 10 category.   Pinotage is a unique South African cultivar, and has been criticised by the international wine media in the past.

The Tokara Walker Bay Chardonnay 2007 gold medal wine was served at the inauguration celebration of President Zuma earlier this month.   The estate’s second brand, Zondernaam, won the second gold medal.